(Previous Incident Code: ISPT047)

Three Israeli missiles hit and completely destroyed a four story house belonging to the Al-Aloul family on Beit Lahia Project Street in the vicinity of the Al-Qassam Mosque. The attack killed four members of the same family and injured dozens more, according to several sources.

Those killed were all of the Amn family and were pulled from the rubble of the collapsed building. They were named by multiple sources as 51 year old Muhammad Ibrahim Amen, and his three daughters; 22 year old Warda Amn, Hadeel Amn, and Walaa Amn.

B’Tselem collected testimony from Muna Aman, 47, mother of six, who lost her husband and three of her daughters in the incident: “On 13 May 2021, at around 11:00 P.M., I woke up suddenly in complete darkness. There was debris, dust and smoke all around me. I couldn’t see anything. I had terrible pain all over my body, and it felt like things were piercing it. I also felt burns on my body and face. The pain was so strong, I screamed. Suddenly, one of my daughters came, I don’t know which one, and pulled me out. Just then, I heard another missile and lost sight of her. The place filled with smoke and dust. Then the paramedics came. I asked them to look for my daughters. They told me they’d take care of me first and then look for them. I lost consciousness and woke up the next morning at the ICU in a-Shifaa Hospital in Gaza City. I asked my relatives about my children, and they said they were alright. A few days later, the doctors moved me to the orthopedic department, where I was told my husband Muhammad had been killed. I went into shock and cried. A few minutes later, I was told that three of my daughters had also been killed – Hadil, Warda and Walaa. I went into shock. They were my hope, my whole life, especially Hadil, who was the most spoiled and was very attached to me. It was a shock for me. I never thought anything like that would happen to me. I don’t know how to go on living. After 14 days at a-Shifaa Hospital, I was transferred to the burn unit at al-’Awda Hospital because I had burns on my face and hands and shrapnel all over my body. I have burns on my head and a fractured left leg. They put a metal plate in. I’m still suffering. I’m in a great deal of pain, and I’m receiving treatment that’s expected to take months.”

Yusef Aman, 15, who lost his father and three of his sisters in the incident, also provided testimony: “On Thursday, 13 May 2021, I woke up in the middle of the night and found myself in the passageway between our building and the building next door, which belongs to the al-’Alul family. There was rubble underneath me and on top of me and a blanket over my head. I was very scared and started shouting, “Help! Help! Get me out!” No one answered me. Suddenly I heard an explosion in our apartment, and I also heard people screaming and crying and calling for the neighbors and paramedics to help. It terrified me, because I heard the screaming of people who were trapped under the rubble with no one to save them or help them get out. I was scared I’d stay under the rubble and no one would come help me, that I’d die under the rubble before the paramedics got to me. But a few minutes later, civilian rescue teams came, and someone took the debris off me. I heard him say, “Martyr, martyr.” He meant me, but then he discovered I was alive. I leaned on him and we started walking. I could barely walk, because I was injured all over my body. I felt like my left leg was broken. I couldn’t step on it. Then the civilian rescue man had to let me go, and I carried on by myself. I crawled on the ground. I saw a little girl, our neighbor from the Abu Jarad family. She was lying on the ground.  She grabbed onto my right leg, and the two of us crawled together to get away from the rubble that filled the street. I had a hard time crawling on the piles of debris. They injured me. At some point, paramedics showed up and took me to an ambulance. I was taken to the Kamal ‘Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya, and from there transferred to the Indonesian Hospital in Jabalya Refugee Camp, where I had surgery on my leg. They took shrapnel out of various parts of my body and put a metal plate in my lower left leg. Then, some relatives came to the hospital. They told me my father had been killed and so had three of my sisters. I went into shock. I never imagined I’d hear such a thing. This loss has caused me terrible pain.”

Most sources put Hadeel’s age at 18, however one source reported that she was 19 years old and another that she was 21 years old. Most sources reported Walaa’s age as 24, however two sources claimed she was 25. Multiple sources also reported that Walaa was eight months pregnant at the time.

A further 27 civilians were reported injured by multiple sources, including six women and ten children. Two sources also reported that three houses collapsed that were sheltering 91 civilians, including 24 women and 41 children.

Two sources reported that the incident occurred at approximately 11.50pm.